Feeding mechanism for continuous baking ovens



F. P. NISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CONTlNUOUS BAKING OVENS Feb. 16 i1926.

`Filed July 17, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb.V 16 1926.

F. P. NISTLE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUS BAKING OVENS Filed July17, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 Fmi FIG-5 Fatented F'ebi 1 6, 1926.v

y' UNITED STATES PATENT ormonali-,W

FRANK PFNISTLE, OiF-INTERVILLA, PENNSYLVANIA..

l. MECHANISM FOR CONTINUOUS BAKING OVENS.

Application led July 17, 1924. VSerial No. 726,421.

To 'all whom it, may concern: Be it known that I, FRANK P. NIS'TLE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Intervilla, in SpringTownship, in the coun- .'ty of Berks and State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanismfor Continuous Baking Ovens, of which the following lis laspecification.

-I U My invention relates to feed mechanism for continuous baking ovensof thetype having an endless-belt hearth; and morev .particularly to aroll-feed platform therefor 4adapted to receive the dough, toprogressively advance the same, to subject the feeding dough, whendesired, to a preliminary boiling operation by dipping the same into asubmerging liquid bath, and finally to deliver the'd'ough to the movinghearth of the oven.

. My improvements are intended for and more. particularly adapted tohandling dough shapes unconfined `by a retaining holder or pan, such aspretzels or the like;

2Q and they provide for quantity feeding of the entire contents'of oneor more peel boards ldirect from the proving racks, or from anautomatic'conveyor, without distortion of the pretzel shapes, .so as toadequately fill the oven to its capacity and avoid wasteful unused spacein the continuously moving hearth, necessarily occurring in the slowhand-feeding operation heretofore commonly employed.

Withthe foregoing objects in view, and with others that will appearlater, my in- 'vention consists in the improved mechanism hereinafterfully described in connection with the accompanying drawings forming 40part thereof, and the Anovel features are vmore particularly pointed outin the subjoined claims. j 'j l I Fig. l rshows in side elevation apreferred embodiment of my invention positioned for l on feeding to theentrance end of a continuous.

' 'indicating mainly a preferred driving means 4 for the latter.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 4 4 of Fig. l, andFig. 5

of Fig. 1. l

Referring to the drawin s, l indicates. a Acontinuous baking ovenofownconstruction, 2 the end wall thereofv having a feed aperture 3, and aclosure 4 therefor, and 5 65 indicates the movable hearth, made up asheretofore, of an endless belt of connected metal plates rotatablycarried by forward 'and rear drive wheels, the latter only being shownas indicated at 6. This oven is heated as heretofore in any convenientman# ner, 'and the speed of travel of the hearth is proportioned to thelength of theoven and the particular baking operation, being such thatdough fedthereto at the entrance end will be properly baked by the timethe moving hearth carrlesit to the opposite delivery end where suitableremoving mechanism may be employed. The hand method of feeding thepretzel dough to this mov- 30 ing hearth has been inadequate to utilizethe full oven capacity, besides necessitating a larger feeding openingand a reduction of the heat adjacent the same to a temperature endurableto the operators. And while 35 attempts have heretofore been madetomechanically feed to this moving hearth, I know of no successfuldevice adequate for the purpose before the conception of my presentinvention, a preferred embodiment of which, as shown 1n the drawings,will now be described.'

Fig. 1 shows but one side late 10', and two legs or standards 11, 11 of)the su porting frame of my device, but it will Ee un- 95 derstood anopposite side plate 10 and legs 11, 11 of like structure are employed,rigidly spaced aparta distance corresponding with the width of the ovenhearth; and extending transversely of this frame, between said side.plates 10, 10, with their ends engaged in bearings in the latter, are aseries of.'closely alined parallel rolls 12 which form the feed platformof my mechanism. vThis platform, as shown, comprises a sub- .stantiallyhorizontal conveyingsection having an intermediate depressed dippingportion and a receiving end portion carried in the rearwardly projectingextensions 10?', '10* of the Side plates 10,10, and a forward 110 is acorrespondingsection on the line 5 5 60 Yfeeding' section projected intothe' oven. -above the hearth; said feeding section b eing preferablyformed, as shown, of a separate frame extension havingside plates 15,.

'ing retzels from the platform to the moving earth.

rl`hese rolls 12, 12EL and 12b may be of any suitable material as bestadapted .for

vthe purpose, and in order that they may' engage the dough supportedthereon and properly progress the same, l prefer to roughen theirsurfaces in any suitable m'an- 11er as by grooving or prlc'king thesurface l `to form projecting points thereon. In the presentconstruction, as shown, l have made them from proper lengths of seamlesssteel tubing, the ends thereof being plugged with fixed aXle extensions17, 17 adapted to seat in bearings therefor carried in the respectiveside plates 10a-10a,'10-10 and 15-15,\ so as to 'be freely rotatabletherein. And' for purposes of ready removal and replacement of `a singleroll when required, l form these bearings, as shown, in separate blocks18, 18 removably engaged in slotted openings 19, 19 of the respectiveplates, said `blocks being retained in position by a cover strip 19a.

In order that the aforesaid roll platform may progressively` feed thecarried dough tovvard the oven, it is essential that some, if not all,of the rolls 12, 12, 12", be cooperatively driven, and in the presentconstruction, as shown, I elect to drive all of them, and for thispiirpose provide each roll, at one end thereof, with a gear wheel 20fixed to its axle 17 projecting beyond the bearing 18 therefor. And-lalso prefer, as shown, t'o apply these gear Wheels 20 `to theoppositeends of adjacent rollers, so that viewing each side, as clearly seen in-Figs. 1 and 3, alternate rolls only appear to hafe gears,

the intermediate rolls however having gears on their opposite ends. Thisstaggered arrangement of the gears permits the use of larger diameterWheels and better proportioned gear teeth, While providing a gear Wheelfor each of the closely alined rolls. And for conveniently driving allthe rolls cooperatively so the platform formed thereby will feed toward.the oven, ll preferably employ, as shown, link belts engaging the teethof the respective gear Wheels. Une such belt is indicated at 25,passing. over gear wheel 26 on-rnain shaftl 27 idlerfgears 28 and 29 anda series of gears'2()l of rolls 12, while a similar belt 25not shown, on

spective gears 20 and main shaft gears 31,

31; idler Wheels 32,132 and 33, 33 guiding the return-bend portions ofsaid belts, as

shown. The lugs 13, 13 and pivot pins 16,

16, uniting tlie feeding section frame plates 15, 15 to'the main frameplate 10, 10, are

respectively formed, asclearly indicated, on

spaced brackets 34k and 35 of said plates, spanning gears 20 andpermitting free passage for belts 30, 30. .And the reduced- 35, 35a,encircling their end gears and a second gear on the end, pair of rolls12a. The main shaft is conveniently driven, as by a motor 36 andbelt,37.

size rolls 12b may be driven by short belts p The belts 25, 25, engagingthe gears 20 of j rolls 12 in the intermediate dipping portion of theconveying section, would ordinarily require idlers in order to maintainthem in contact with their respective gears in this depressed portion,but for a purpose hereinafter explained, l prefer to employ asuperimposed platform in this 'dipping portion, as shown, composed ofdriven feed rolls 12c spacedlyvmounted in upward extensions of `certainbearing blocksr18, 18, and each having a gear Wheel 20a, staggeredlyarranged on opposite ends of adjacent rolls in the manner of gears 20 onrolls 12, said gears 202L not only acting to maintain belts 25, 25 incontact With their gears-20, but cooperativelyv driving their respectiverolls 12, so that the feeding surfaces of said driven feed rolls 12c ofthe superposed platform section are operative in the same direction astheopposed feeding surfaces of the main feed rolls 12, but in separatedplanes arranged to provide,'free passage-Way between them for thepassing dough shapes with positive feeding of the latter Whether theyare c arried upon the rolls12 or floated into contact with the rolls 12cduring the dipping operation required. I

Beneath said dipping portion of the conveyor section, and supported onthe intermediately outwardly bulged angle bars 40, Ll0, extendingbet-Ween the legs 11--11 and 11-11, is a liquid receptacle 11,'the sidewalls 42 of which project upwardly outside gears 20, 20, and the endWalls 43 of which are slotted to embrace the side plates 10, 10 and havea liquid tight joint with the latter. This receptacle is such. depththat its loof lmore or less cover the rolls 12c the oven. v

liquid when properly, filled, will cover the rolls 12 in this. dippingportion, and also imposed platform, so. that the feeding dough shapeswill becompletely submerged in thisl liquid bath as they pass betweenthe rolls 12 and 12% This bath is to provide a usual preliminary boilingoperation," when required, and the liquid is heated in any desiredmanner, commonly by gas burners, not shown,

provides for this boiling operation without interfering with the steadyprogressive feed of the dough, the speed o f rotation of the rolls 12and 12c determining the proportionate length of the dipping portionfor adetermined time of boiling action. To insure this progressive feedthrough the liquid, particularly as the heated dough has a tendency tofloat free of its supporting roll 12, I have provided .the superimposedplatform -rolls 12, heretofore described, which are so spaced from rolls12 as to form a passage-way in which only one layer of dough may travel,and the rolls 1,2c engage and feed forward any floating dough,preventing piling up in said passage-way and,

insuring ordered progress through the receptacle 4l.

To maintain a constant liquid level in receptacle 41, asupply' tank 45is shown, connect'ed by inlet pipe 46 and fixed height overflow pipe 4 7to said receptacle 41, and any convenient pump, not shown, forces a tankthrough pipe 46, while pipe 47 returns any excess; the liquid in the.supplyv tank being renewed from "time to time as required.

- The proven dough shapes, laid as usual in closely arranged order onpeel boards, or on an automatic conveyor where such is employed, may beconveniently transferred tothe conveyor section of my improved platform,a peel board load at a time, or continuously from said conveyor. And thedough shapes thus transferred tothe platform, are first-carried inordered arrangement through the liquid bath as Aabove described, withthe rotated upper rolls 12c insuring like forward movement to anyfloating shapes, and then to the feeding section projecting into theoven, where the re- .duced size rolls 12b. gently transfer the shapes tothe moving oven hearth 5. l,When desired, a salting'device may beemployed to shake a proper supply of salt on the passing boiled Theplates forming the endless belt hearth 5 of the oven, in making thereturn bends around their drive f wheels, in-

eline at changing angles until they assumey horizontal position in thestraight-run. porof the supersupporteddirectly beneath vthe receptacle41; and my improved construction pretzel shapes before they enter tionsthereof between said end wheels; and

proper close positioning of the to insurev Iolls 12b withoutactual-contact with said hearth, I have made the feeding sectionrelatively movable as heretofore described, and I preferably provideeach side plate l5, 15 with a shoe 50, 50, adapted to ride on saidhearth 5 or the side drive chains thereof, so that said feeding sectionmay shift as required with the undulations` of the hearth plates. Thispermitsy feeding to the moving hearth closer to the retuin-bend portionthereof, thus lengthening the useful baiting length of the oven ;A whilemy ing section requires but a small entrance aperture to the oven, and aconsequent conservation of the heat therein, which may be increased, ifdesired, to a baking temperature close to said entrance end. Y

My improvements thus fully Adescribed extended feedstructure, vmeans forreadily feedin in quantities adequate to the capacityv of the oven, fortransferring the dough shapes without. distortion to the moving hearth,and for subjecting the' dough to a preliminary boiling operation whenrequired, in a simple manner and during the continuous progressive feedthereof. It will be understood, of course, that the speed of feed of myroll platform will be determined by the speed of travel of the ovenhearth, and the propoi'- tions indicated in the drawings, particularlyas to the length of the depressed dipping portion, are merelyillustrative and will vary with the needs. tions as required by theparticular baking operation, as well as modifications in the specificconstruction above detailed, may be readily devised without departingfrom the spirit ofmy invention as particularly pointed out in theclaims.

. That I claim is:

l. Apparatus for continuously delivering pretzels or like dough shapesto an endless belt oven hearth; comprisinga receptacle for treatingliquid, and a feed platform made up of feed rolls which have theirfeeding surfaces positively rotated Ain the same direction and at thesame speed; a series of And omissions and addiabove said lowered seriesso as to operate s upon the upper surfaces of passing shapes. 3.Apparat-us for continuously delivering surfaces positively rot-ated. ,inthe 20 ing surfaces positively pretzels or like dough shapes to anendless belt oven hearth; comprising a receptacle for treating liquid,anda feed platform made up of feed rolls which have their feeding samedirection and at the same speed; a series of said rolls forming alowered feed section arranged to dip into said receptacle, and anotherseries forming a feed section spaced above said lowered series so as tooperate upon the upper surfaces of passing shapes, and all of said rollsbeing rotated by an engaging drive chain arranged in an intermediatelplane.

4. Apparatus for continuously delivering pretzels or like doughshapegshto VYan' endless belt oven hearth; comprising a receptacle fortreating liquid, and a feed platform made up of feed rolls which havetheir feeddirection and at the same speed; an end rotated in the sameserieskofl feed rolls being mounted -in a swinging extension of the mainfeed platform and being `of reduced diameter but positively' driven atuniform surface speed to form a hearth-delivering section.

5. The combination with a continuous oven having an endless movablehearth; of a feed platform r therefor comprising section having anintermediate depressed section with a spaced'superimposed feed latform,said platforms being made up o xedly mounted alined parallel feed rolls,drive fwheels on the alternate ends of successive rolls, and drive beltsengaging said wheels tocooperatively rotate said rolls,

a conveying the wheels of the su erimposed rolls deflectlng saidbelts-to maintain their engagement with the wheels of the rolls in saiddepressed section.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature.

' FRANK P. NISTLE.

